Leno said Fallon shares many of the talents and traits of their predecessor, the legendary Johnny Carson.

“I admire his professionalism, and his ability to do comedy is really good,” Leno said. The first time he realized the depth of Fallon’s comedic gifts was when he saw him do a Neil Young impersonation.

“I think he's probably the closest to Johnny of anybody else in late night,” Leno said. “When I watch him do, you know, a duet with Justin Timberlake or something of that nature I go, ‘Well, I can't do that. I mean, I write jokes.’”

For his part, Fallon said Leno’s support and guidance have been instrumental.

“Obviously I look up to Jay, and so we talk every couple weeks or something like that,” he said. “I just love his attention to detail and how he roots for me all throughout late night. You know, whatever — he’ll give advice if I ask advice, or he'll say, ‘I saw that one piece, that was great.’”

Fallon called Leno “one of the best comedians out there,” but it has been his own comedic, and frequently musical, sketches from his “Late Night” show that have made him a popular entertainer since he left "Saturday Night Live" to host the post-midnight program.

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Leno told Lauer he admires Fallon's professionalism.

Fallon said he’s not sure how different he’ll feel in his new, earlier time slot.

“Remember when I talked to you, I said, ‘I'm loving it, my job at 12:37 or whenever they air my show.’ And I go, ‘It's great. No one bothers me,’” he told Lauer. “I'm on, I'm doing our show, but it's almost like no one knows I'm doing it. It's just great.”

But he knows there will be more pressure to succeed with more viewers at stake.

“With this one, I feel like there's more eyeballs,” he said.

Despite intense network competition among late-night television shows, Fallon said he doesn’t feel any additional pressure.